Snapshot

Court structure, procedure and the function of judgments, orders, opinions and pleadings.

Module status

• •Track: Court
• •Last verified: 2026-07-31
• •Boundary: Independent training. Official notice and EPSO messages prevail.

Court structure

The CJEU comprises the Court of Justice and General Court. The Court hears preliminary references, selected direct actions and appeals on points of law. The General Court hears most direct actions by individuals and companies and specified institutional actions. Jurisdiction depends on the Treaties and Statute.

Procedure map

A lawyer-linguist must recognise parties, interveners, claims, pleas in law, admissibility, jurisdiction, facts, procedure, legal assessment and operative part. A preliminary ruling answers questions of EU-law interpretation or validity; the national court resolves the dispute. An appeal targets errors of law, not a general rehearing of facts.

Genres

Judgments state the authoritative decision and reasoning. Orders often resolve procedure or manifest cases. Advocates General's opinions are reasoned, independent proposals and do not bind the Court. Pleadings express a party's submissions and must never be rewritten as the Court's finding.

Translation consequence

Preserve speaker and procedural posture. “The applicant submits”, “the Commission contends” and “the Court holds” carry different authority. Keep paragraph numbers, case identifiers, quoted provisions and operative verbs exact.